


Inception.

by AngelKruger, Shadows_of_The_Night11



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: AU, Amnesia AU, Cadmus is somehow involved, F/F, Oh and Alex is a metahuman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 16:30:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15123413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelKruger/pseuds/AngelKruger, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadows_of_The_Night11/pseuds/Shadows_of_The_Night11
Summary: When Alex wakes up in a bright room, she remembers absolutely nothing of her life. However, when her memory starts coming back, would she like to remember everything or go back to a life without knowing?





	Inception.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone!
> 
> I'm back and this time I bring a story made in collaboration with AngelKruger, I don't know how many of you are on tumblr, but for those who are there...this is a fic in collaboration with Kalex-corner. You might know her and if you don't I suggest you go there and give her a follow. She posts all the good kalex stuff and then some.
> 
> But anyway, she's also an incredible writer and something that started as some Roleplay between friends, well...let's say we decided to give it a try and turn it into a fic.
> 
> We hope you enjoy this little piece.  
> Love. xX

The room was eerily quiet even with the monitor connected to her heart. It was like the air was sucked from the room, leaving only emptiness behind. And Kara, well...she waited half her life to be reunited with the woman lying on the bed.

However, she wasn’t ready at all.

Perhaps she wasn’t ready to find Alex covered in nasty bruises and bleeding cuts. She wasn’t ready to find broken bones standing out at odd angles or the marks of the several forms of torture scattered on the woman’s body. It wasn’t a day’s work and the notion of what that meant made Kara shiver.

“She’s going to be alright,” J’onn told her. “She needs some rest and once she wakes up, we’ll be there for her.”

Kara doubted things would be so easy although she never lost hope.

Hours went by without a change, but Kara refused to leave the room for long. No one could really blame her when Alex remained unconscious. Hours slowly became days making Kara’s anxiety grow the longer Alex was in that bed.

The constant beeping of the machines changing rhythm ever so slightly was the first sign Kara noticed. Long, dark eyelashes fluttered the tiniest bit, followed by a twitch of fingers, and Kara felt like she was about to explode.

Lights were too bright when Alex finally opened her eyes.

Her head was pounding, and her body felt extremely heavy as she tried to shield herself from the light coming from above. Her movements seemed sluggish as she rested her arm against her forehead for just a second. She was exhausted and completely lost in a world always asking too much of her.

It took her a few moments to adjust to the brightness, still unaware of the other woman in the room; before Alex tried to open her eyes again. When she managed to blink the blurriness away, Alex found herself in what seemed to a med-bay of sorts.

However, she had no memory of how she got there.

Thinking about it, and thinking hard, Alex had no recollection of anything prior to opening her eyes. She didn’t know where she was or what happened.

The vague memory of her name told her who she was without revealing a single thing about her life.

Alex felt lost in the emptiness of her own mind although she wasn’t scared. At least, not completely. It took her another hot minute to realize she wasn’t alone in the room.

“Hey,” she called softly; voice rough due to a dry throat.

A moment of silence went by; a moment of deep contemplation, as she stared into beautiful blue eyes. It took her a second to find her voice again.

“Who...who are you?”

“Hi!”

Even when the excitement was too hard to contain, Kara tried to hover as little as possible. The last things she wanted was to frighten her charge.

“Oops, sorry,” the blonde said, much more gently this time after noticing the wince the exuberant greeting earned her. “I’m Kara, and I’m so excited to see you finally awake! I apologize for the delay, there was some mix up with paperwork and the assignments. I keep telling J’onn that we should upgrade to computers but no, he’s old school like that... Totally love him, though but, anyways. Yeah, I’m Kara, and I’m finally here.”

The rants? Well, that was something nobody could help.

Alex was trying to process all the information suddenly given to her; cute rants included. It was hard to follow it all at once, but Alex managed just fine.

The name thrown into the conversation got an alarm ringing on Alex’s mind: J’onn. It sounded oddly familiar although there was no way to place it when Alex barely remembered her own name.

A quick scan of the room revealed no windows and the only way out was behind Kara. Even if Alex was certain she could sneak out under normal circumstances. She didn’t trust her legs at the moment.

Hell, she didn’t even know what the “normal circumstances” were.

“Right,” Alex said before clearing her throat once again. “So, Kara...” She paused for a brief moment; trying to put her thoughts in order. “Here. Where are we? What am I doing here?” Focusing on what she really wanted to know, Alex made another question. “What happened?”

A sense of dread invaded Alex when her eyes found mesmerizing blue.

She almost regretted asking, but she was in an unknown place; with an unknown woman and absolutely no idea of what was going on.

“Wow, you must’ve hit your head pretty hard,” the blonde lamented with a sympathetic wince.

Her hand went to touch Alex’s head but stopped short. J’onn had warned her about the delicate situation with this particular charge, and she had to be very, very careful.

Wary of this whole situation, Alex retreated from Kara’s touch until those words made her realize where the throbbing was coming from. Her headache wasn’t unbearable, maybe due to pain meds, although it didn’t help her with the lack of memories. She touched the white fabric, wincing slightly when a wave of pain made her dizzy.

That wasn’t a good sign,

“Oh, I don’t know much about what happened,” Kara continued. “But there was an explosion, lots of screaming and panicking, and some crazy light show going on. We were kinda hoping you could tell us…? But that seems unlikely right now.”

Kara hummed. Then, seemingly lost in thought for a second, before snapping back with a dazzling smile. “Maybe J’onn can give you some more details once you’re doing better. For now...welcome back to the D.E.O.!”

“Sounds like a fun day,” Alex said without thinking. “This feels exactly like a hangover and I haven’t drank that much since my last year of college.” Looking at her hands, Alex spotted the many cuts and bruises on them. It seemed like whatever happened was a nasty ordeal and she barely made it out. Then, something caught her attention; It was like she was missing something in the middle of the bandages, the paper robe, the beeping machines and the entirely too white room. Too pristine even for hospital standards.

“Does my wife know I’m here?”

She remembered the weight of another hand on top of hers as she laid down in bed when she crashed her bike several months ago. Alex remembered the soothing warmth of skin on skin contact and the cold bite of the ring as she put it on for the first time. A ring that was missing just like the knowledge of her marriage until realization finally settled in.

“I’m married.”

“I’m married...”Kara parroted, blinking owlishly for a long moment before coming back to her senses with a start. “You’re married! Oh my, I think that tidbit was missing from my report. Weird...but, anyways, that’s another thing you would have to ask J’onn later.”

Kara hoped he would show up sooner rather than later. She was feeling very inadequate so far and helping Alex was supposed to be her sole mission.

Sighing tiredly, she went to drag a chair closer to the bed, then plopped down on it heavily, fiddling idly with the zipper of her standard D.E.O. hoodie. “So, you’re starting to remember some things?”

“I don’t know...it’s an odd feeling. If I try to think about something specific, there’s nothing. But then, I have these glimpses and it’s like they never left.”

Then, Alex paused completely.

Scanning the room quickly did nothing to clear her mind. The fact her prior inquiries were rebutted or directed to this man called “J’onn” only accentuated her uneasiness and sense of dread.

Alex felt trapped and she wasn’t sure if it was for the abnormally white walls or the lack of general knowledge about her situation.

Kara was also a factor in that feeling. The cheery attitude despite her clothes not being anything remotely related to “medical concept” was enough to make Alex dubious. There was something about the blonde that made Alex wary even if she should feel like trusting this complete stranger.

There was something else going on, but it was hard to tell exactly what it was.

“You’re not a doctor,” Alex said more like an affirmation rather than a question. “What are you doing here?”

“Did the sweats give it away?” Kara joked lightly, pulling at the stretchy material laid taut against her thighs.

“Maybe they had something to do with it,” Alex conceded, “but mostly, you don’t act like a doctor. I mean, I just woke up after I don’t know how long and you’re just sitting there. No check ups or you know, tiny lamps.”

“Well, it’s a little hard to explain, but to put it simply, I’m here to make sure you don’t die.” Perhaps the blunt delivery wasn’t the most gentle of tactics, but as things were, they had very little choice.

“I’m a...an agent, if you will, of the department of extra-normal operations, the D.E.O. I was assigned to your case by J’onn, who is the D.E.O. director,” Kara explained, just as if talking about the weather. “I'm not too sure how to say this so I'm just going to spit it out; you're a metahuman and your abilities have just been awoken. I’ll be acting as your guide, per se, while you learn about and harness your powers.”

The explanation about where she was and mostly what she was did nothing to clarify things, Alex was confused, with the annoying headache still present and unable to contradict Kara’s words because her memory was still missing. There was nothing she could do or say, at least nothing based on logical arguments and not the instinct to shout  _ Hell no. _

“Did I get wasted so badly you decided to pull this prank on me? Because let me tell you, it ain’t funny. There’s no way I’m a metahuman. No way in Hell,” Alex said while trying to get up from the bed.

Bad idea, since she almost lost her balance and face-planted on the floor. Still, she was frowning and decided to get out of that madness. Maybe Alex didn’t remember a lot of things, like her whole life, but she wasn’t crazy.

“Oh! No, no, no, no. Don’t do that!” Kara said in a mild panic, trying as gently as possible to make sure her charge didn’t hurt herself further; it had the possibility of triggering Alex’s powers again, and something told Kara that would not go well at all.

She really needed J’onn to show up and handle this already, as she was so not qualified to deal with the initial freak out.

“Next thing you’re gonna tell me is you can fly,” Alex muttered dryly.

Maybe showing Alex how real this all was would help? There was hardly anything to lose, anyway.

“Well...” taking a few steps back, her feet gradually left the floor, until she was hovering a couple of feet in the air. “And apparently, so can you. Now, can you please, just...proceed to freak out in bed? Your body is still processing the changes, and while you’re also really, really strong, you’re not Kryptonian strong, and I really don’t want to have to restrain you. Please.”

The display of extranormal abilities stunned Alex in place. She merely observed Kara as the blonde proved her wrong, her words remained mostly unregistered due to the shock of her actions, and Alex could only stare. None of it made sense, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t real.

“Fuck.”

Sitting on the edge of the bed was more a necessity than anything else when Alex’s knees threatened to buckle. She took a moment to process the whole situation and change her approach.

The information started filtering, the knowledge about her own abilities was unbelievable, but there were some aspects that stood out the most. Kara was one of them.

“Wait...you can fly. And I’ve seen you before,” another second passed, a stunned blink as Alex’s mind did the needed alterations to Kara’s image until realization finally hit. “You’re Supergirl.”

As the realization of her identity clicked in Alex’s brain, Kara all but preened. There was no point in trying to hide her identity from the concussed woman, not when they would be working together from there on.

“Now the ten makes sense,” Alex said motioning to the stupid golden digit hovering over Kara’s head. “Okay, right. Of course, this is totally normal. You are Supergirl and you say I have powers too, and since I can’t remember anything before waking up here, I guess I have to believe you.”

Alex tried to run a hand through her hair just to find the bandage once again. She closed her eyes and tried to dial back her burning anger and frustration. That wouldn’t help anyone.

“I must be crazy.”

“You’re not crazy, a little confusion was to be expect-wait, number?” Kara asked with no small amount of confusion.

The random detail was enough to get her attention.

Thinking there might be something on her head, she tried to reach for it, but her hands only found air. 

“What are you talking about? Is there something on my head?” Maybe it was just the pretty woman’s injuries making her talk nonsense, but it completely threw Kara off.

“What?”

Coming back to her senses, Alex looked up to find an equally confused Kara. The blonde’s actions made Alex smirk slightly before she shook her head. There wasn’t something on Kara’s head, not per se, except the number Alex was able to see telling her how dangerous someone was.

And Supergirl had to be a ten; a  _ golden _ one.

“Oh, no, no. There’s nothing there. At least nothing you can grab. It’s more a warning about your level of danger. In your case, it’s a ten. Which is not a surprise considering your abilities and origin. Most people are a solid four and sometimes a five, mostly seen when a guy didn’t know the meaning of no after an awful date.”

Caught up with her own explanation, it took Alex another minute to realize that her ability to see those numbers was something out of the ordinary to start with, although that didn’t explain how she ended up there or the thing with the big explosions and the lights Kara mentioned before.

With a heavy sigh, Alex accepted she was in one hell of a ride until her memory came back.

Meanwhile, Kara’s sweet demeanor changed in a blink. Her posture changed to a protective and threatening one; shoulders tense as she stood to her full height.

“You made them understand that no means no, right? They didn’t hurt you.” It was more of an affirmation than a question, or at least she wanted it to be. The implications had pushed the wrong button, and as sweet and non-violent as Kara always tried to be, there was fire hiding behind the innocent smile, one that could not be extinguished easily.

The change was mesmerizing on itself, the Kryptonian strength revealed in from of curious eyes, the power of an entire civilization passed down and portrayed with such grace by someone wearing sweats.

Alex witnessed the change happen in a millisecond, from sunny Kara into Supergirl.

Perhaps the blue suit and cape helped her stand out in a crowd and broadcast her presence when danger was around the corner, but there was always a sliver of her true self-present beneath the bubbly personality and innocent smile. It was there for anyone daring to take a closer look.

Alex was Kara’s charge now, the one she had been waiting for all those years, and even if all those horrible dates were in the past, the heroine wasn’t above dispensing justice where it was needed.

She didn’t realize it, didn’t even know it was a ‘thing’, but as her protective side flared, the number floating above her head changed right all along. From ten going up to fifteen, the previously golden digits cracking with static to a dark red.

The question remained unanswered since Alex was taking in Kara’s beauty. It went beyond the blond hair and stunning blue eyes. There was warmth radiating from her, a sense of safety Alex couldn’t shake off despite the awkward situation she found herself in.

It was a blessing for J’onn to walk in when he did.

“Supergirl, stand down.”

With a blink, the sunny demeanor was back in place, the borderline snarl reverting back to a brilliant smile.

Just like flipping a switch.

“Oh, hi, J’onn!”

The familiarity Alex felt while looking at Kara only grew stronger when the so-called J’onn entered the room.

“I know you,” Alex muttered when she saw the man. “You were at my dad’s funeral.”

There were many questions Alex wanted to ask, questions about her true identity and about the D.E.O. She wanted to know how long had she been there and if any of her family were alerted about the accident. She wanted to ask about her missing ring and the knowledge of a marriage not registered by this secret facility.

Glimpses of her life came back slowly, the grief of losing her father almost made her eyes water. But Alex swallowed her feelings; her need for answers bigger than her sudden pain. Whatever happened before she woke up was still a mess, but if Alex remembered something, it was the man’s name. At least one that wasn’t J’onn.

“You’re Hank Henshaw.”

“That’s right, Ms. Danvers. It’s good to see you’re awake.”

“What happened?”

“The explosion was the result of your latest escape attempt-...”

While J’onn explained the full extent of the situation to Alex, Kara all but blended into the background. Like a shadow in the reeds, she made herself as inconspicuous as possible, ears trained on the explanation, eyes lost in the scenery past the wall.

As she processed along with Alex, the pieces that laid previously scattered started falling into place for her too.

That’s why she had been forced to wait for so long to meet her charge, why J’onn never assigned her to anybody else in the meantime. Helping Alex would be a challenge, and in more ways than one.

“...-sorry, miss Danvers, but the last fourteen years have been a lie, a fantasy fabricated to keep your brain working while you were kept captive and experimented on to force your abilities to awaken and then exploit them. You went missing five years ago during a mission, and with time, those memories; the real ones, will start coming back. Until then, Kara will be by your side. She will help you train, will be your companion, if you may.

“How can you say it like that? Like it doesn’t matter,” Alex said with anger starting to build dangerously. “Like keeping me here to  _ experiment _ on me doesn’t mean a damn thing to you. And you dare to believe I will stay here and let you do whatever you want, again.”

Trying to stand up again, Alex finally succeeded. She didn’t care about the shakiness of her legs or the pang of pain when she took the IV out. She could feel something more than anger coming to the surface; hot and revitalizing at the same time, and a second later she was face to face with J’onn.

Her arm pressed against his throat and her strength was enough to keep him a few inches above the floor. Alex didn’t realize she was floating; the only reason she was able to hold the man like that.

Too stunned to react in time, Kara watched the display with wide, shocked eyes.

“You have no shame admitting what you did to me! I want my life back! The one you took away five years ago. You turned me into what? An experiment? Your damn pet? I don’t want your little blonde cheerleader to keep me company. I want you to stay away from me.”

Alex’s words didn’t make any sense, they hadn’t been the ones to take her hostage, quite the contrary. For years, J’onn had worked tirelessly, going days without sleep and chasing lead after lead. They had come close many times, and even though they had managed to rescue other subjects from the hands of Cadmus, getting to Alex always escaped their grasp.

Alex pressed harder against the man’s throat not caring if the wall started cracking against his back. She didn’t care about any of them. Flashes of her fantasy started blurring with the ones of her  _ real _ past.

It made her rage burn deeper, grow stronger along with her abilities.

“This stops, Now,” Alex growled.

Looking at the desperate look in the brunette’s eyes, Kara felt the pain as if it was her own, understood where the rage came from. Half of Alex’s life as she knew it was a lie, and that had to be the hardest blow to process.

Still, Kara had to stop her, and quickly, before the base ended up like the one where they had finally found her.

“Alex, no!” She said, hands raised and reaching out, but not daring to go any closer, lest she made things worse. “You got it all wrong, it wasn’t the D.E.O. that had you kidnapped. It wasn’t J’onn. We’ve been trying to find you for years. He never gave up on finding you. Please, please just… hear us out. Don’t make the biggest mistake of your life, please.”

None of it made sense. The world was spinning and Alex wasn’t sure if it was because she was exhausted, overly confused, angry or on the verge of a breakdown.

She stared into J’onn’s eyes, and after a couple seconds, she didn’t find any fear. She was practically choking him and yet, she found deep compassion in his eyes. There was no pity there, and Alex was glad about that.

Realising him not even a second later, her hands went to her hair just to find the bandage again. It was hard to process the situation when most of her life was still in blank and the vague memories were mostly just a complex lie.

Gasping in relief, worried blue eyes stayed firmly trained on Alex. Only a quick glance was spared to J’onn, who, thankfully, understood that giving the redhead some space was for the best. He nodded subtly before taking his leave, and that was all the support Kara needed.

The sting of tears was present, but Alex blinked them away. She was stronger than this. Perhaps she wasn’t able to remember her past, but there were things she just  _ knew _ .

“I want to go home.”

It was hard to tell if the memories Alex had of home; the few ones of a happy childhood in Midvale with Eliza and Jeremiah, the white sand and the waves as she surfed; where more than a construct of whoever held her captive for years.

Looking back at Alex, Kara’s chest constricted painfully in sympathy. It couldn’t have been easy, learning that most of the pieces of her life were a mere construct, a cruel lie.

Alex sought Kara’s presence without realizing why. But then, that piece fell in place making her throat close painfully with a strained sob.

There was something familiar about Kara, she knew as much since she woke up, but there was also a sense of dread, and now Alex understood why.

The softness of Kara’s expression, the blue of her eyes and the way light reflected on her hair made of gold were more than Alex could handle. Many memories flood back to the front of her mind, but this time Alex was sure they were a blatant lie.

“It was you,” she whispered through the knot in her throat while the sting in her eyes grew hotter.

Hearing the broken whisper, the blonde frowned, tilting her head down to try and catch Alex’s eyes, but the brunette had her gaze firmly locked on the floor.

Making her way back to bed, Alex looked like she had fought a war. She sat there; eyes closed, her shoulders slumped and the weight of the world on her back. She was the image of someone who was defeated. Her mind was still racing and her heart felt so heavy it could have been made of steel.

The irony.

At least Alex knew something for sure: she wasn’t married after all.

And her  _ wife _ was staring at her like a complete stranger would.

With tentative steps, Kara went to sit on the edge of the bed, close enough to offer some support, but far enough that she wasn’t in Alex’s personal space.

“It was me...what, Alex?”

There were empty memories of anniversaries, a dog named Krypto, walks through the park and stolen moments when they would dance under the stars. The fact all of that was a lie didn’t change the feeling. It didn’t stop Alex from loving Kara in a way that made absolutely no sense.

Feeling Kara’s presence next to her, Alex finally looked up to meet blue eyes.

Maybe hazel orbs were reflecting longing, the phantom pain of a broken heart that had no reason to be broken. There was a deep yearning for something that wasn’t there. It wasn’t there because it wasn’t real.

This Kara was Supergirl and yet, that was how far the similitudes went. Still, Alex was trying to find something else there, a sliver of hope to mend her soul.

Perhaps that dream, the web of lies, went deeper than Alex thought at first. She was as lost in that fake reality as she was now. The difference being that in the construct of lies and plot holes, she was lost in alcohol instead of a mental blackout. And then, Kara found her, making her way into Alex’s heart with coffee and sticky buns.

Now, Kara was finding her again in a way that shattered every hope at the same time it accentuated the pain.

“It doesn’t matter,” Alex said with a sigh before rubbing her eyes tiredly. Glancing up at Kara one last time, Alex saw the golden number disappear.

It didn’t mean Kara was less dangerous, but Alex trusted her. Then again, the damage was already done. The number didn’t matter anymore. It wasn’t Supergirl’s fault, she wasn’t aware of the way Alex’s entire soul deflated with the sight of her shy persona.

Maybe if Cadmus entered the room to finish…

No, Alex wasn’t going there.

“So, who am I? What does the D.E.O. know about me?”

Kara huffed a long breath, shaking her head slightly.

Where to even begin?

“Your life up to your father’s death, the memories you have? Those are all true. You started working at the D.E.O. I believe...seven years ago? I’m not sure, but you were really young, a walking prodigy for what I’ve heard.” Kara explained to the best of her ability.

She watched Alex closely, hoping the superficial recount would spark her memories. “You went missing during one of your first missions, and J’onn had been looking for you ever since.”

And he had. He had used every resource available to try and find Alex, and when he came empty-handed, he created new resources himself. He had a promise to keep, and Alex was like a daughter to him.

Blue eyes turned sad, then, and so was the small smile full of begrudging resignation.

“You don’t remember me, do you?”

The question made Alex look up and into stunning pools of blue. There was a dejected tone in Kara’s voice, and it made Alex shift on the bed. She scooted closer and tried to offer some comfort even when this whole situation was maddening.

It wasn’t easy to be so close to Kara when her mind was still so troubled with vague memories.

“I remember you, Kara,” she dared to admit. “Actually, I remember many things about you now. I remember way more than just you being Supergirl and saving National City. The point is, I’m not sure how much of that is real.”

The new insight she had on her life did nothing to clear her doubts although it was enough to bring back the remembrance of a grey, chilly room. It was probably the place where she was held captive for years, but the details were still out of her reach.

However, the hardest part was to keep her distance from Kara when her heart was a mess too. It was almost painful to avoid holding her close and whispering against blond hair how things would work out in the end. Alex wasn’t sure about that anymore.

There was grief in hazel eyes as she stared at her hand and then Kara’s. The ghost feeling of entwined fingers as they walked down the street was still too real. Alex longer for the love and affection of an illusion while she tried to protect Kara from any pain.

Once again, it wasn’t fair.

“I know you love pizza and potstickers. You also consider chocolate pecan pie the best dessert in the universe. You don’t need caffeine to start your day, but you enjoy the taste even if you usually add insane amounts of sugar,” Alex made a pause then, unsure of her next words before they escaped her anyway. “I remember the first time you said you loved me.”

Unable to face what Alex was sure would be shock on Kara’s expression, she returned her gaze to immaculate floors. She sighed heavily, wishing for a moment she could go back to being  _ normal _ .

Listening to the recount, Kara’s heart ached for Alex, for what once was and what could’ve been, but time was stolen from them.

“I don’t know if any of that is true...But I know I can’t forget you.”

“Eliza always did make the best chocolate pecan pie, and I’ve traveled a few galaxies, so I don’t make that statement lightly,” she joked weakly, smiling sadly.

“The first time I told you I loved you...” Kara’s smile turned wistful then, and her gaze went to the ceiling as if trying to see through it. “I was twelve and you had just turned fifteen. We were sitting on the roof looking at the stars. You said you guessed you loved me too, even if I had eaten all the cake, and when I asked you if we were going to be together forever...”  Kara had to stop for a moment, needed to pull some air into her lungs before pushing the rest of the words out. “You said you would fight whoever tried to separate us.”

The memories felt all too fresh, the pain all too real, and the strong walls she had built over the years, came crashing down painfully within her heart and mind. “A few days later I had to go back to Kansas. Kal almost had to drag me away, and then...nothing. I never heard from you again.”

Those words were everything Alex needed to remember a lot of details she was missing. She remembered her childhood to the point where Kara left. She remembered exactly what happened next and how she ached for Kara’s presence in her life after the blonde was taken away.

However, Alex was able to remember every second of excruciating pain as well. She remembered the hours she spent on Jeremiah’s lab; a strong migraine threatening to break her skull in half, and her entire body recoiling with endless waves of pain. She remembered it all started just before Kara was taken away. Alex also remembered it only got worse after Kara left.

Steeling herself, Kara pushed through.

“They said that me being away from you was for your own protection, and even if it hurt, I would’ve done anything to make sure you were safe and happy. I did a pretty bad job at it, uh?” It was only then that Kara dared to look at Alex again, unshed tears shining in her eyes. “I thought you were safe until J’onn told me what happened a few hours before you woke up. I knew we were looking for someone, but I had no idea it was you. A smart thing to do, really, considering I would’ve torn down the globe looking for you.”

Truth was, Alex was never safe.

After Kara was taken away, things changed. Eliza wasn’t sweet or soft anymore. There was no love for her little girl when suddenly Alex became as alien to her as Kara had been.

The pain was the first manifestation of what Jeremiah had done before he died; toyed with Alex’s DNA to make her more than what she should have been. She was turned into a  _ prodigy _ . Working for the D.E.O. was the option they gave her to ease her pain, but it was also a tool to find Kara. It was Alex’s chance to stop her heartache.

“I never forgot about you...after you left. Do you remember my promise?” Alex asked, finally taking Kara’s hand on her own. “I told you everything would be okay, that I would find you again and then nothing would tear us apart.”

The heavy veil keeping Alex’s past hidden fell suddenly. Everything gained a clarity Alex couldn’t ignore any longer.

Every memory was there, every single moment, and the difference between reality and fantasy became undeniable. Some light was enough to make the shadows clinging to her mind disappear. Just a little certainty cleared the mess, giving form to the many realities Alex knew.

“After I got my Ph.D. I went looking for you as soon as I got the chance. I was already working for the D.E.O. but you were still on my mind. That’s how they got me. I even made it to Kansas, but I didn’t know where you were. That self-righteous Boy Scout did a good job hiding you. Years had passed already. I wasn’t sure you’d be there and no one would tell me a thing about you. I knew you were safe, but I missed you so much, Kara.”

Alex wrapped her arms around the heroine pulling her into a tight hug. Her next breath turned shaky although she didn’t let go.

“I did my best trying to find you. I have yet to do so, but once I do...I’m not letting you go. I promise.”

She pressed a gentle kiss to Kara’s temple before looking into blue eyes. “I love you.”

_ Alex, wake up... _

The soft whisper echoed for a moment before Alex woke up in a dark empty room.

Feeling her determination coming to the surface, Alex knew she had the control of every ability and enough power to push through.

In reality, she was still trapped in whatever kind of facility this was. Now, Alex knew how she got there and how her own mother gave her away to those people. She was aware of the fantasy Cadmus used to keep her from fighting back; the life she had with Kara as her wife.

Remembering everything meant knowing she never escaped Cadmus. Her interaction with Kara at the D.E.O. was nothing but a fantasy to pull her back to reality. It was her time to go home.

Kara’s memory was enough to give her courage as she made her way out of the room.

The guards had no chance to stop her as she took the place down with raw strength and burning rage. Alex wasn’t just trying to escape, she was also trying to put an end to her horror story; Cadmus wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else if there was nothing left of the organization.

They would pay for what they did to Alex, for keeping her away from Kara for so long.

Fourteen years since the last time they saw each other.

It was hard, but Alex made it outside.

What was left of the facility was filled with smoke and the sky burned with dancing lights, the remains of her nightmare collapsing slowly.

For the first time perhaps in her whole life, Alex was free.

She allowed herself the chance to smile, exhausted as she was...she was free.

Her strength vanished as she made her way away from that place. Strong arms caught her as she fell, and her first reaction was to fight back. They wouldn’t stop her from going back to Kara; not again.

However, the embrace felt familiar and looking through heavy lids, Alex made up J’onn’s martian form. He was a little blurry, but he was there nonetheless.

“We got her. She’s safe,” he called a moment before Alex lost consciousness.

_ Lights were too bright when Alex finally opened her eyes. _

_ Her head was pounding and her body felt extremely heavy as she tried to shield herself from the white light coming from above. _

_ Her movements seemed sluggish as she rested her arm against her forehead for just a second. She was exhausted and completely lost in a world always asking too much of her. _

It took her a hot minute to realize where she was, but then her eyes went directly to the blue ones watching her intently. Alex couldn’t help but offer a shy smile, all her memories in place and the certainty this time she was there  _ for real _ .

This wasn’t a dream or a complicated fantasy to keep her locked up in a dark room. She was really there, and so was Kara.

“Hey,” Alex called softly.

A soft laugh filled the room when she was engulfed in a Kryptonian hug.

Things were finally alright.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading. If you feel like it, let us know what you think on the comments.  
> See you next time.


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